desire, prayer, and labour, if they do nothing else, will serve at least to confirm your hope of having

some.

Peter's faith, though sufficient to keep him from drowning, was not enough to keep him from sinking; and if we have any desire either to glorify God, or to enjoy solid and settled peace in our own hearts, our prayer must be, "Lord, increase our faith."

And

And remember how it was that Peter's faith failed him, and he began to sink. "When he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid, and began to sink." He took his eye off Christ, and looked at the waves, and then, down he began to go. when the Christian ceases to look unto Jesuswhen earthly objects and worldly pleasures and pursuits distract his attention from spiritual and heavenly things, then he sinks too. Let him keep the eye of faith steadily fixed upon Him who is its Author and Finisher, and he may safely encounter all the waves and storms of the world: but let him take it off, relax in his prayerfulness and watchfulness, and begin to look downwards on the waters beneath him, and he loses his vantage ground, and gives the enemy occasion against him. Let me add a word or two

To those of no faith at all. Where would Peter have been, if he had had none-not even enough to cry, Lord, save me?" and what will be the fate of those, who have not even so much as this? For "if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?"

There is a worse storm than the one in which Peter was out, which we must all encounter-the storm of the judgment-day. There is a worse gulf,

into which the souls of those who live and die careless of God and of themselves, will be plunged, than the one into which Peter was in danger of sinking; and what will ye do in the day of wrath, if ye have not made Jesus Christ your friend, and put yourselves under His shelter and protection, before that storm begins?

Do ye ask, how you may obtain faith? I answer, "Ask, and ye shall have; seek, and ye shall find." Ask God to show you your lost conditionto make you feel your need of a Saviour-to enable you to place your trust and confidence in Him. Do as Peter did, cry and say, 'Lord, save me— save me from my unbelief-save me from my own hard and unbelieving heart, which would persuade me I am in no danger, and that I can do without Thee.'

SERMON X.

JOHN xiii. 8.

'If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.”

I suppose that we are all agreed in thinking that it must be a very blessed thing to have a part and portion with the Saviour; but perhaps we are not all agreed in thinking that it is a very miserable thing to have none. For many seem to think, that though the man who makes it his chief concern so to pass through things temporal, as finally not to lose the things eternal, is quite in the right; yet those who pay little or no attention to serious and spiritual matters, are not much in the wrong. How such persons can reconcile the two opinions together, it is very difficult to say; for if religion be any thing to man, it must be every thing; and if heaven be as valuable as the Bible says it is, it cannot be possible to labour too hard and to strive too earnestly and constantly, to enter into it.

Now if there should be any here, who feel convinced that to live and die without a part with Christ, is in other words, to live a very miserable life and to die a very miserable death, and in consequence of such conviction, are earnestly desirous of being true Christians; let me remind them, that it is entirely their own fault if they fail. God is very willing that they should be such-Christ is

ready and able to wash them from their sins, and make them new creatures; and where is the blame to lie, if they fall short and are cast out? The Scriptures speak plainly enough about the one way which leadeth to everlasting life; and it is a man's own fault if he mistake the road, and never arrive at its blessed end.

The text contains the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, not one of whose words shall ever fall to the ground. May the Holy Spirit incline our hearts to listen to them, to receive them with humility and faith, looking for His assistance to help us to understand and to profit by them! We shall notice,

I. THE STORY CONNECTED WITH THE

TEXT.

II. THE SPIRITUAL MEANING OF THE
TEXT.

III. THE PRACTICAL IMPROVEMENT OF
THE SUBJECT.

I. THE STORY CONNECTED WITH THE TEXT. It appears from the third and following verses, that while our Lord Jesus Christ was eating His last supper with His disciples, He performed an action which much surprised them. Without telling them beforehand what He was going to do, He rose from his seat, poured water into a basin, took a towel, and began to wash the feet of the twelve disciples who were with Him.

After He had performed this operation on some of the others, (the disciples all the while wondering in their minds what it meant, but keeping their thoughts to themselves, and not saying a word,) it came to Peter's turn to be washed next; and Christ came to Him to do what He had done for

the rest. Peter, however, who was always ready to speak his mind, and, like many other persons, often said things for which he was sorry afterwards, could no longer contain himself, but exclaimed, "Lord, dost Thou wash my feet?" To this our Lord replied, "What I do, thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter."

Peter not being satisfied with this answer, as he ought to have been, replied, "Thou shalt never wash my feet;"-a very foolish and inconsiderate speech indeed. Our Lord, however, was graciously pleased to pardon it, and reply to it in a way that at once removed all Peter's foolish scruples.

I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me." When Peter heard this, he said, "Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head."

Now from this story we may learn,

The exceeding love and condescension of our Lord Jesus Christ towards poor sinners. Here we see the Lord God Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, becoming a servant to men, waiting upon them and washing their feet. How can any then be proud and arrogant and high-minded, when Christ was so humble and condescending? Pride is a very bad principle; and if we would be like the Saviour, we must learn to be humble, and ready to do kind offices one to another. It must be remembered too, that Judas Iscariot, our Lord's worst enemy, was probably with the other apostles when this transaction took place, and had his feet washed with the rest.

And if people had any of the mind which was in Christ Jesus, their feelings and their conduct even towards their bitterest enemies, would be different from what they often are. If a man cursed